Microsoft denies they ever mentioned a new Xbox

Two days ago we got a little excited because we thought we'd just heard - for the first time ever, amazingly - a Microsoft representative publicly mention thata new Xbox console is in development.

“We’ve had Hotmail and operated Hotmail for about 16 years, we obviously have Exchange, and Outlook, that people use at work," said Brian Hall, a manager at Microsoft on a podcast at The Verge. "We just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we could have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office with the new Windows phone and the new Xbox.”

To us, that sounds pretty clear. However, Microsoft disagreed today, saying to IGN, "The comments to The Verge were not understood in their intended context. When Brian mentioned a ‘new wave of products,’ he was referring to the full lineup of products coming later this year from Microsoft, including Windows 8, Office, Windows Phone and of course our fall Xbox update which will bring a host of new consumer experiences like Xbox Music, Videos, Games on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass.”

We know there's a new Xbox console coming in some form as surely as we know that when a tree falls in the forest it still makes a sound even if nobody is around to hear it. We're just not quite sure why Microsoft is so reticent to acknowledge even the mere plan for its existence at some point in the future.